Sarah
by Scarlet Secret
Summary: During her first Christmas at Downton O'Brien gets an extra special present from Cora. Pre-femslash.


**A/N: Cora/Sarah (inevitably) for MirrorOfSin with a very Merry Christmas. :)**

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><p>On Christmas night Sarah O'Brien slipped into her ladyship's room to await her arrival. Normally she'd wait to be called but tonight she knew Cora might well be a little bit worse for wear after a night of indulgence so she thought it best not to except much of her and idly straightened things on the dressing table until she heard the door. Cora swanned in with a smile and O'Brien immediately stood up straighter and couldn't resist a small smile: her ladyship was infectious tonight it seemed.<p>

"Did you enjoy the evening m'lady?"

Cora smiled at her maid and felt like she was gliding across the room. She had consumed several glasses of mulled wine with supper – at lunch it had been cider, something she grew more and more accustomed to as the years progressed - champagne for Robert's toast and had even indulged in a little bit of brandy with Rosamund during the evening games. Things were becoming slightly hazy, but in a warm comforting way and the presence of her recently acquired maid did nothing to quash her good spirits. Even after four months O'Brien already felt more part of the household than either of her predecessors had.

"I did O'Brien, very much. Mrs Patmore really does treat us at Christmas."

Sarah smiled back at her and had to admit she agreed. She had not thought the irascible cook up to much when she had arrived but despite her slightly lumpy appearance – apparently she was getting over a spell of over-indulgence following her sister's death – the woman had surprised her and produced food on par with anything Sarah had ever seen or tasted before. Even the ancient housekeeper, who looked like she had a constant bad smell under her nose had asked for seconds of the plum pudding and the cook had looked rightly smug when the meal for upstairs had gone up – it had looked like something out of a shop window and Sarah felt like she could spend a decade in a big house like this and never get used to the splendour.

"She does m'lady," Sarah stepped behind Cora to begin unbuttoning her beautiful festively red dress, taking her time over the ornate golden buttons. Normally she'd be eager to get to bed herself and move her hands quickly, but she was in no rush on this evening when there was such good feeling in the household. Besides which she liked the Countess and had never seen her this merry before, perhaps it would be a good moment to try integrating herself again? Her Mother had told her the sooner she did that the more comfortable she'd be in her position. Then again her Mother was a farmer's wife so what did she know about being a lady's maid! "Although poor Mr Carson nearly broke 'is tooth on the sixpence in the dessert."

Cora giggled and caught O'Brien's eye in the mirror.

"You all enjoyed yourselves downstairs I hope?"

Sarah thought back on the day: other than an incident during which one of the daft yard boys had nearly spilt the gravy all over Elsie and Sarah had laughed enough to earn her a glare from most people around the table, the day had been remarkably pleasant.

"We did thank you m'lady. It's been the best Christmas I've had for a good few years."

It was a lie of course. She'd spent the majority of her life at home, barring a brief spell of working in London as a housemaid before deciding it was a pathetic job and working in a dress shop instead, and she'd never spent a Christmas away from her parents and hoard of brothers before. To be at Downton was a wonderful opportunity for a woman who wanted to get on in life but the nature of her job meant she'd had to miss out on the family Christmas this year and instead spend it with people who were practically strangers and most of whom didn't like her. Maybe next year things would be a bit more friendly…maybe there'd be _someone_ for her to spend a companionable few minutes having a cigarette with?

"I'm glad to hear it."

"Did you get nice presents m'lady?"

If there was one thing Sarah already knew about Cora after so short a time it was that she liked shiny things, especially new shiny things and Sarah, with a swell of affection, hoped she had received a number of them. The desire for Cora to be happy surprised her but she couldn't help but feel it and she supposed that if she was a little bit miserable then it was only right that someone else was thoroughly happy.

"I did! A rather ostentatious hat off Rosamund that I think three ostriches must have died for. Several pieces of jewellery from Robert – I think Rosamund helped him pick them out – and the girls managed to sit still together for long enough to have a portrait done."

That in itself was a minor miracle and Sarah raised a wry eyebrow in the mirror as she finished unbuttoning.

"And the Dowager Countess?"

Cora rolled her eyes but not without fondness, "Talcum powder and another hideous vase. She gets me the same thing every year. The vase will have to go in the hall and maybe you'll be more successful at using the powder than my last maids, they always used to make it lumpy and horrible."

"I'm sure I can try m'lady."

Cora swayed slightly and her heart went out to the woman behind her who had succeeded in removing the dress off her arms and down to her waist with her barely noticing, O'Brien really was the best maid she'd ever had! She felt her kneel to pull it to the ground and it wasn't until Sarah had managed to get her corset off that she was suddenly jolted with remembrance.

"Oh O'Brien, I nearly forgot!"

She stepped out of the dress that was around her ankles carefully and all but skipped to the other side of the room, reaching under the bed to pull out a package. She turned back round with a grin and proffered the box at O'Brien, who raised her eyebrow with bemused intrigue.

"Is this a new nightgown you'd like to wear m'lady?"

Cora rolled her eyes playfully and smiled the ingratiating smile that Sarah knew she did for her guests. She felt oddly privileged to be treated in such a way.

"No, it's a gift. It's for you O'Brien, to say thank you for being so indispensable these last few months."

Sarah flushed bright red and her eyes went wide with shock.

"But…m'lady. I've-I've already 'ad my gift off the family."

And she'd been quite pleased with it. It wasn't the impersonal bit of nonsense she had assumed it would be, instead a pretty and practical sewing box had been inside her package and she'd spent much of the day admiring it in secret and pretending she was above such nonsense to the rest of the staff. It had made her vaguely miserable that the only thing she owned that was even half decent had needed to be bought by rich benefactors, but the thing was so beautiful that Sarah had soon forgotten these morose feelings. Instead she'd run her hand over the perfect weaving of the lid and the soft handle that fitted so nicely into her hand. In her heart of heart she knew it was a bit of a backhanded gift but it was also _hers_.

Cora waved her hand to silence her.

"I know you have and this one can be our secret, but I wanted to get you something else."

Unable to argue with Cora – especially when she looked as bouncy as an excitable child and was dressed in her undergarments – Sarah took the package with a smile and allowed Cora to take her arm and lead her to sit on the bed besides her.

"It's special but I've been looking for a good maid for _so _many years now and I'm so happy with you O'Brien that I had to get something else. I hope you like it."

She sounded so hopeful and sweet that Sarah knew if it happened to be a garden bloody gnome she'd pretend to rave about it just to keep Cora happy.

"Thank you m'lady," she pulled at the paper carefully until it fell away and revealed a small picture frame that, with furrowed brow and excited eyes, Sarah turned over. Behind the glass there lay a pressed white rose and underneath a little sign baring the name 'Sarah' in embossed golden writing.

"It's lovely m'lady…" She bit the inside of her cheek. It was utterly impractical, quite different to the sewing box she was so proud of, and it must have cost Cora so little to ask the gardener to find the right flower and have it pressed and framed, but to Sarah it's price was above rubies. Cora had _thought_about this and at the prospect of this Sarah felt traitorous tears begin to form. It was the sort of thing a sister might have gotten her but the only sisters she'd ever had hadn't survived infancy and so she'd had to make do with boys who thought bars of soap were a good present because girls liked to be clean.

"Oh O'Brien!" Cora shuffled closer on the bed and wrapped her arms around her recklessly. Sarah had a feeling that in her right mind and if it was not Christmas the Countess may well think twice about embracing a servant but for now she would take what she could get and leaned into the other woman. "There's no need to cry."

Cora reached up a hand to cup O'Brien's cheek, brushing away a stray tear with her thumb.

"Unfortunately it's not one we grow at the moment but I've asked Mr Molesley to plant it in the spring."

Sarah couldn't stop the tears escaping. She consoled herself that at least they were dignified and sparse, which was something of a miracle given the torrent of emotions inside her. Moving closer Cora placed a soft kiss on her temple before gently turning Sarah's face towards her.

"I'm so glad you're here."

Quite without warning, and probably induced by her intake of alcohol, Cora leaned in and pressed her lips against Sarah's for a brief moment in which time seemed to stop for Sarah.

Grinning Cora pulled away for a second before leaning in once more – the moment she was away seemed longer than anything had ever felt before to Sarah and she met Cora half way this time, wondering desperately whether this was a kiss she should attempt to make more of. Her hands still clutched her present and it was Cora's arms holding her in place so perhaps-

Cora pulled away and giggled again, her head resting suddenly on Sarah's shoulder and her whole body seeming to have given way to the drink and tiredness. With a shaking voice that she was terrified Cora would spot Sarah gently spoke and reluctantly removed herself from Cora's embrace.

"Perhaps it's time you went to sleep m'lady?"

A sleepy "Hmmm" greeted her ears and, placing her treasured gift on the dressing table for a moment, Sarah pulled back the covers for Cora and couldn't stop her breath hitching when Cora _bloody well crawled_towards her to slide between them. She shifted down like a child excited about their first Christmas, not a grown woman, a Countess with three children and an estate to run who should show a deal of decorum, even with her maid.

But it didn't matter to Sarah. She knew in a moment that she preferred the wide-eyed Countess who giggled and gave her presents and kissed her and looked like a curled-up kitten in bed half-drunk from a good day to almost anyone else. In the space of an evening she had fallen in love with Cora Crawley, and the feeling filled her with warmth. She didn't know how long it would last - perhaps she would feel like this for the next decade or maybe she'd have forgotten by twelfth night - but as she leant down to kiss Cora's forehead softly and muttered "Good night m'lady" she felt happy.

End.


End file.
